This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for handling flexible packages or bags filled with fluent material and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for gripping such filled bags at a pick-up location and conveying them to a drop-off location where they are preferably placed into a relatively rigid supporting container or carton.
Flexible plastic packages or bags are frequently used to contain liquids, such as milk, water, fruit juices and the like, and may also be used to contain other fluent materials. The use of plastic bags minimizes the exposure of materials contained therein to contamination and thereby ensures a high degree of sanitation and/or purity. However, such flexible bags, particularly in larger sizes, are unwieldy when filled with a fluent material. Accordingly, filled bags are typically placed in relatively rigid supporting containers or cartons to facilitate handling of the filled bags.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of placing such plastic bags filled with fluent material into corresponding supporting cartons without tearing or opening the bags. Placement of the filled bags into the cartons raises unique problems primarily due to the unwieldy nature of the filled bags which tend to expand in any unconstrained direction. Further, some materials from which the flexible bags are made tend to stick or adhere to the sides of the supporting cartons and, hence, may present additional problems when such a filled bag is inserted into such a carton.
In the prior art, fluid filled flexible bags have been inserted into supporting containers or cartons manually by hand packing the bags into the cartons. With hand packing, the bags tend to assume a teardrop form which facilitates placement of the filled bags into the cartons. However, hand packing is slow, tends to be inconsistent and, of course, incurs the expense of a human operator to perform the hand packing operation. To overcome these problems, fluid filled bags have been dropped from the ends of bag conveyors or inserted into cartons by means of variously shaped chutes and outwardly and inwardly expanding funnels. Unfortunately, none of the known prior art techniques fully satisfy the unique requirements for handling and packaging flexible bags filled with fluent material.
It is, therefore, apparent that a need exists for an efficient and cost effective method and apparatus for handling flexible bags filled with fluent material and for inserting such filled bags into relatively rigid supporting containers or cartons to replace prior art manual packing and gravity packing directly or through variously shaped chutes and funnels.